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How much does a pharmacist earn in Sweden?

Pharmacists. 3,000 people employed in Sweden.

46,900SEK

per month is the median salary for a pharmacist in Sweden in the public sector in 2025. That is 22% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

≈ €4,150 / $4,850 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 36,443 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 271 SEK an hour · 562,800 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

Statistics Sweden reports no average salary for pharmacists in 2025 — too few people were observed. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 41,500 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 96,200 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Lowest 10%
41,500 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
96,200 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
3,000
Statistics Sweden's occupational register 2024

Pharmacists are experts on medicines and work in community pharmacies, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry and government agencies. The profession requires a pharmacy degree (apotekarexamen) and a licence from the National Board of Health and Welfare. It is the longer of Sweden's two pharmacy degrees; the shorter one leads to the prescriptionist (receptarie) qualification, which is counted as a separate occupation. Pay varies with employer and sector, experience and managerial responsibility, for example as a pharmacy manager.

Pharmacist starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 25–34, earn 46,000 SEK a month on average — roughly 35,800 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 46,000 SEK 35,837 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 41,500 SEK 32,807 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 44,900 SEK 35,097 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Pharmacist pay in the private and public sector

What pharmacists earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors – – – –
Private sector – – – –
Public sector 48,300 SEK 46,900 SEK 46,600 SEK 46,900 SEK
Municipalities 43,000 SEK 42,000 SEK – 42,500 SEK
Regions (health care) 48,400 SEK 47,000 SEK 46,800 SEK 47,000 SEK

Pharmacist salary after tax in Sweden

What pharmacists actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 46,900 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 36,443 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

46,900 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 36,443 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 37,129 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 36,372 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 36,430 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 37,546 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 35,397 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 46,000 SEK before tax — roughly 35,837 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 96,200 SEK, which is roughly 61,403 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for a pharmacist

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for a pharmacist

Pharmacist salary by age

Pay for pharmacists normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 40,000 100,000 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 46,000 SEK – 46,300 SEK 430
35–44 years 56,700 SEK – 54,100 SEK –

Pharmacist salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 40,000 100,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Stockholm 79,300 SEK – 75,600 SEK –
East-Central Sweden 48,300 SEK – 47,800 SEK 310
Småland and islands 46,100 SEK – – 110
South Sweden 47,600 SEK – 47,600 SEK 240
West Sweden 47,100 SEK – 47,300 SEK 330

Pharmacist pay growth 2014–2023

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 35,200 SEK in 2014 to 42,900 SEK in 2023, +22% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 2281, “apotekare”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Apotekare
  • Chefsfarmaceut
  • Farmaceut, apotekare
  • Informationsapotekare
  • Klinikapotekare
  • Läkemedelsansvarig, apotekare
  • Sjukhusapotekare

Frequently asked questions

How much does a pharmacist earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary in the public sector was then 46,900 SEK a month before tax. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

How much does a pharmacist earn after tax?

The median salary for a pharmacist in the public sector is 46,900 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 36,400 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the starting salary for a pharmacist in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: pharmacists aged 25–34 years earn 46,000 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 41,500 SEK. More in the section “Pharmacist starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for pharmacists?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 96,200 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Where in Sweden does a pharmacist earn the most?

Pay is highest in Stockholm, where pharmacists earn 79,300 SEK per month on average.

Other jobs in specialists in health care not elsewhere classified

See the whole occupational group Specialists in health care not elsewhere classified or occupations requiring advanced level of higher education